Microsoft to rival Apple's Siri? Welcome to "Cortana".

Right now, in terms of mobile Operating Systems, Windows Phone isn't having a splendid time, being up against Android and iOS. But, Microsoft has now included a service I believe they should have done a long time ago. Welcome to Cortana, Microsoft's answer to Apple's Siri.

Rumoured to be included in the new Windows Phone 8.1 update, Cortana will work in a very similar way to Siri: Being able to change what the software calls you, so if you want the nickname "Master Chief" (fitting, right?), you can. Also, Cortana has a key feature, which is that it can save all the logs, information and data from the use of Cortana in a notebook system, which then allows the phone to remember contact information as well as features like tracking flights from the user's emails.

However, it's not incredibly clear that Cortana will be in the final version of WP8.1. But it will most likely be shown off by Microsoft at their annual Build conference in San Francisco, as well as showing of the lastest demo of the dev preview of the 8.1 OS.

Although I think this is a welcome addition to the Windows Phone OS, I believe it is too little too late for technology like Cortana from Microsoft. Siri has been around for years, and is widely regarded as one of if not the best digital assistant on smartphones of the past few years.

What do you think? Welcome addition? Too little too late? Do you think that WP8.1 will benefit from Cortana?